Haryana human rights panel orders probe of minor boy linked to bonded labour case in Nuh

The Commission, chaired by justice Lalit Batra with members Kuldip Jain and Deep Bhatia, acted on an August 1 report in HT that detailed the boy’s ordeal.

The Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of a bonded labour case involving a 15-year-old boy exploited in Jind and Nuh districts, directing authorities to act against those responsible and ensure immediate rehabilitation of the minor.

The boy, originally from Kishanganj district in Bihar, was separated from his companions at Bahadurgarh Railway Station.

The Commission, chaired by justice Lalit Batra with members Kuldip Jain and Deep Bhatia, acted on an August 1 report in HT that detailed the boy’s ordeal. Calling it a “serious violation of human dignity and fundamental rights”, the Commission ordered district officials in Jind and Nuh to identify and arrest the perpetrators, investigate bonded labour practices at the dairy farm, and submit a medical and rehabilitation plan for the child. The matter will be heard next on November 4.

Police said the FIR against the trio was registered under sections 118(2) (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), 127(4) (wrongful confinement for 10 or more days), 137 (kidnapping), 146 (unlawful compulsory labour), 289 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery), 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. No arrests could be made yet as suspects were yet to be traced.

“This case reveals not only the physical exploitation of a child but also the collapse of systems designed to protect the most vulnerable,” the Commission observed. Justice Batra further noted that the incident constitutes a breach of India’s obligations under Article 32 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which mandates protection against hazardous and exploitative labour. The panel said it also violates the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, and the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, as well as Articles 21 and 23 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantee the right to live with dignity and prohibit forced labour and trafficking.

The boy, originally from Kishanganj district in Bihar, was separated from his companions at Bahadurgarh Railway Station, where a stranger lured him with the promise of a ₹10,000-a-month job at a buffalo dairy in Jind. Instead, he was forced into bonded labour for two months, subjected to harsh conditions and physical abuse.

His ordeal took a grave turn when he severed his arm while cutting fodder. Instead of providing medical aid, his employer abandoned him at an isolated spot. Injured and without food or water, he managed to walk nearly 150 km from Jind before reaching Nuh. Two government teachers, Arvind Kumar and Rakesh Kumar, spotted the semi-clad boy atop Panchgaon hill on Tauru–Nuh road and took him to Nuh Sadar police station. Assistant sub-inspector Kamal Singh arranged clothes for him, escorted him to a government hospital, and later contacted Kishanganj police to trace his family.

Officials said that the child will be soon produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and the HHRC has emphasised that the case must be pursued with urgency to ensure justice and reinforce safeguards against child labour and bonded labour practices in the state.